A parting gift
by Rhagar
Summary: A one-shot tribute to Ultimecia. As the final battle nears closer, Ultimecia ponders certain aspects of her long life as sorceress. The final showdown will decide the fate of all existence and yet... could there be a final moment for her? Could she give a final present? Perhaps death is not the ultimate defeat... Isn't revenge a dish best served cold?


Mmm, wow actually this is my first FF8 fanfic... let's see how it turns out, shall we?

This fic was born due to the fact that I recently wanted to remember good old times and replayed FF8. I had forgotten the impact this game had on me when I was younger, and Ultimecia's as well. She's probably the Final Fantasy villain that fascinated me the most, followed by Sephiroth... This fic is the product of my desire to make a tribute for Ultimecia in some way. You can think of this as a Squall/Ultimecia pairing... somehow, though I myself am not so sure. But they are definitely the protagonists.

Please note that this fic takes as true the theory that Rinoa is Ultimecia, though remember that it's only implied with small details here and there. That being said, let's begin this fic.

**Disclaimer: **It's a real pity that I don't own Final Fantasy 8 or any of its contents.

* * *

**A Parting Gift**

Thunder boomed in the dark night as lightnings lit briefly the landscape, showing the sight of a Victorian-like castle looming proudly over the water, floating silently in the air. An air of doom and gloominess coated the castle, like an old, worn out cape that fits perfectly. The rain that poured out of the blackest clouds fell ominously upon the dark, cold marble that gave form to the castle.

_Her_ castle...

The place she had called home for more than... How long had it been? Decades? Centuries, perhaps? At some point it didn't matter anymore. Time flew rapidly and yet for her it didn't seem to pass. Civilizations fell and rose, organizations were disbanded and formed, continents and islands were destroyed and created and yet... she remained. Like a painful memory from old legends, a reminder of long forgotten eras. Oh, many had tried to stand up to her, face her to be her downfall. None succeed and many more died from her retaliations, her punishments for their daringness, for believing they could stand up to her.

She didn't even remember when she had started her quest for power... though it did not matter either. What really mattered was why. For as long as she could remember, she had always been in the castle... her home... her prison... a manifestation of the state of her soul: rundown, old, worn out... It disgusted her and yet... she couldn't get away of the place as it was her castle... her painful reminder of what she had lost. She couldn't remember, yet she _knew_ she hadn't always been like how she was now. That didn't matter anymore too, either. It had been a small fickle of irritation for several years until it died. Now she just… was. She was Ultimecia.

A sigh escaped from her lips as she gazed at the dark sky, staring blankly at the full moon that loomed over her head.

The time had finally come, the legendary SeeDs had finally arrived to strike her down before Time Compression was completed. She had known they would come, sooner or later. She could feel them getting closer to her. She had ordered her guardians, the monsters she kept under her command, to stop them from violating the castle with their presence, the castle she once wanted for them both to live in. A childish dream form her past turned into a living nightmare. They tried to stop them but were slain one after one, regaining the powers she took from them in an attempt to slow down their advance. A foolish hope, she though bitterly. She knew very well how their struggle for dominance would end. Somehow, she knew. The memories were blurred, like an old movie or trying to look at a picture from far away, the details were gone but the bigger picture remained. She'd be killed by the legendary Seeds and Time Compression would be stopped before it could be completed. Her imminent demise was closer at each second and she'd known it, for as long as she could remember.

She'd tried to prepare herself for this mere fight, fixed in the unstoppable stream of time like a rock, but a small, insidious voice in her head told her that it was pointless. Fate couldn't be stopped. And yet, she stubbornly casted those thoughts aside and kept going with her plans, with Time Compression.

Her lips curled into an enraged snarl. The hate and anger that engulfed her were like old companions, accompanying her in her last journey, her last fight. It had been so long since she had felt something different to those emotions... It had been too long since she had seen him for the last time, so long since she had seen his smile... Her Knight... Protecting her from harm, no matter what. Her... Squall... Even now she had difficulty in recalling his name, but she still remembered his beautiful eyes, the small smile he always had for her.

A strange fond smile appeared in her face as she recalled him. It felt... awkward, as if her own lips didn't remember how to smile anymore. She remembered how hard he tried to put himself behind barriers, believing to be safe behind them. He hadn't liked to be brought into other's problems but somehow she broke his defenses and got to know him more than she thought she would. The events of his death were faint, hard to recall, but she knew it was her own doing. The pain, that excruciating pain that tore her apart had been too painful, too unbearable to remember and thus, she locked her own memories from that day away.

Oh, how she missed him... She had spent so many times gazing at the full moon... just like that day, trying -and falling- to let the pain go away. And now, he was there, in the castle, set in killing her. She could feel him in the castle. A bitter bark of laughter echoed in the throne room, escaping from her lips. The person she loved had entered Time Compression with the fated mission to kill her. Oh, the irony.

* * *

She felt the life force of Catoblepas fade away and realized with a bitter smile that now only two of her most powerful and loyal minions remained, Tiamat an Omega. Tiamat, once a G.F. more powerful than Bahamut and almost equal to Eden. Sadly, she had been unable to locate the location where the most powerful of all G.F slept in its slumber and that had irritated her many times as somewhere deep in her mind, she _knew_ where it was. And Omega… perhaps the most powerful being in existence. Its mere presence provoked a disturbance in the threads of existence, like ripples in a puddle of water. At this point, Ultimecia still didn't understand the reason why the being had sworn loyalty to her.

Tiamat would fail her, of that she knew. It was fated, after all. The Legendary Seeds facing the Sorceress. It had been a whispered legend, one passed from mouth to ear, fearful from her spies. But she till clung to the useless, pointless hope that, somehow, Omega would stop them.

* * *

A foolish hope, she thought while smiling bitterly several minutes later. Omega had failed her, killed by the ones it was supposed to stop by any means.

Soon, too soon, they were already behind the doors of the throne room, preparing mentally for the final battle. Ultimecia glanced a final time at the moon, a melancholic and sad look crossing briefly her face before setting themselves in a scowl, twisting her usually regal features. She leaned against her throne, caressing the small necklace made of silver and the symbol hung by the rope a final time. It was a memento of him, one that she always carried with her. The only physical reminder of him.

It was time. Let the dices of Fate do their magic.

* * *

They stood defiantly in front of her. Without fear, she noted. She studied them carefully, analyzing them extensively. Ultimecia had to admit the fact that they were brave, they had triumphed were all others had failed. Or perhaps they were just too foolish... Of that, she wasn't sure but it was of no importance. Finally, her gaze fell upon him and she almost lost her scowl, with a smile threatening to appear in her face. She crushed those emotions and regained her control before losing it completely. Deep within her blackened heart something had stirred, an unknown emotion thought lost long ago.

Not wanting to loose emotions that made her feel uncomfortable she looked at the girl standing next to him. Too close to him, she noted with narrowed eyes, her scowl returning with full force this time. All her body screamed at her to kill that whore clad in blue for stealing him. He was hers and hers alone, not a passing entertainment for some random common whore. For a moment she only saw red.

She would show that bitch why she was called the Terror in her time!

Ultimecia waved furiously a hand and started speaking, "SeeDs... SeeDs... SeeDs, SeeDs, SeeDs! Kurse all SeeDs! Swarming akross generations like lokusts! You disgust me. The world was on the brink of that ever-elusive 'time compression.' Insolent fools! Your vain krusade ends here, SeeDs. The price of your meddling is death beyond death. I shall send you to a dimension beyond your imagining. There, I will reign, and you will be my slaves for eternity!" She bellowed with all the malice that she could reunite, glaring with full force at them, specially at that whore in blue. She idly noted that the accent she'd picked while travelling aroundthe world had made itself present.

The fight started and soon escalated in violence. Spells were fired from each sides with the intention to kill. Attacks were dodged, flesh was torn and blood was shed in a dance of death and pain, of sorrow and hate. Ultmecia attacked the foolish SeeDs viciously, trying to prove that Fate had no hold on her whatsoever, trying to prove that she had the last word in her ever-eternal struggle against the very fluctuant and omnipresent forces of nature.

But even in her frenzied state she couldn't bring herself to seriously hurt her Knight and yet… she kept fighting, confident that he was powerful enough to survive every one of her attacks. Oh, and quite powerful he was! She almost purred from satisfaction. There was in front of her the strength she remembered faintly, the confidence while fighting. No wonder why he had been... would be... her Knight.

She was really surprised when she found herself out of breath minutes later and a flicker of dread installed itself in her heart but she casted aside those thoughts. She looked at her Knight almost pleading for forgiveness.

_'I'm sorry for doing this, my love, my Knight…'_

And yet, she muttered the words, "I will invoke your greatest fear to battle... Behold Griever, the strongest G.F.!"

The battle went on and on and for a short time, Ultimecia thought that she had win when only her Knight remained on his feet, although staggering visibly. She let her hopes rise too much, thinking that she could knock him unconscious and finish the others off, so they could finally break the never ending cycle and be together again, this time forever, but those hopes were crushed as soon as he resuscitated his companions and they cured him...

She junctioned herself unto Griever when she saw that even the mighty beast had trouble facing the Legendary SeeDs but the sentiment of dread grew larger and larger as each minute passed.

She fought without stopping her attacks for a moment but the SeeDs were relentless in their purpose, each covering the other's back. They were strong and he was the strongest... She could feel a sense of pride for her Knight, for how powerful he was. Her whole body ached for his body, oh, how badly she wanted to claim those lips for herself again...

Junctioned to Griever she was powerful, very powerful and yet, they managed to weaken her immensely. Now, the question she had to make to herself was if she was willing to break the boundaries that engulfed her human condition and become something... else.

Was she willing?

'_I wish you hadn't to see this, my love… I don't want you to see whatever I'll become…' _

Although with reserves, she chose. She broke free of her human, weak vessel and crossed the barriers to achieve another stage of existence. A stage that deep down scared and disgusted her but she didn't see it anymore, the only thing that mattered to her at that point was the objective she was aiming for.

But even then, all her struggle against fate had been a pointless one.

She fought. She bled for her purpose, her objective.

And she had lost. As simple as that.

Being defeated sure left a bitter taste on her mouth. All the effort she put to make Time Compression a reality to waste. Every carefully planned step she did crumbled uselessly by the interference of half a dozen people. It really got on her nerves and the fact that her own Knight was the one that lead them against her only made it even worse.

'_Soon… Soon I'll be able to close my eyes and let it go… I'll be able to sleep… I'll be able to forget…' _

But before that, she had something to do. Something every sorceress had to do when in the brink of death. Pass on her sorceress' powers. She let herself fall in Time Compression, when the different threads of time were starting to weave and fix themselves. She idly thought to herself for a moment that that old fool of Hyne had really made a great job when creating the world.

* * *

She knew he had appeared in the right place when she got out of Time Compression. Her whole existence would bring her to the right person. It was something like a failsafe engrained deep down in every sorceress' DNA.

She heard voices, one slightly angry and wary and the other, clearly female, with a calm and soothing voice.

If she had raised her head, she would have laughed madly at the sheer irony of her situation. The woman whom she would control was the same one that was going to receive her powers. If only she had raised her head, she would have been hard pressed whether to cackle insanely or weep at the implications of it. A cycle. A cycle without end, always spinning and never stopping.

But she didn't raise her head, defeated. She thought that was it, her final moment. That after passing on her powers, she'd be finally able to sleep.

Surprisingly, Fate had something else planned for her.

* * *

I appeared in another place inside Time Compression, a small portion of soil suspended in the air, with nothing being able to be sighted at the horizon. I immediately fell to my knees, with almost all my force gone. In the small portion of soil, there was only I… and my Knight, I realized when I lifted I head. Just doing so felt like my whole body was being crushed.

'_What? Why… I'm still alive? Oh, of course... I'm still dying; I only have minutes at best.'_

"You're still alive." He just said.

"Does that bother you, little SeeD?" Shit! That's not what I wanted to say! The words had left my mouth without thinking.

"It does, considering you tried to kill us." He calmly replied and I could feel his calmness once again when I thought I never would. I chuckled hoarsely.

"You do have a point, little SeeD." I said and he saw him scowl slightly at my snide remark. I wondered why I was still pushing his buttons but I guessed it was part of our situation. I really didn't know how to interact with him anymore.

I tried to stand up and walk towards him but even standing felt like thousands of sharp spears passing through me and not even four steps alter I staggered and fell to the ground, cursing my weakness. I felt his hesitance but he eventually approached to me, crouching down in one knee.

"You're dying already, right?" He asked and I looked at her with contempt.

"Very sharp, little SeeD. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I'll remain here until you pass away."

"And why, pray tell me, would you do such a thing, huh?" I sneered, trying furiously to think about a way to tell him everything I wanted to say. Needless to say, I wasn't having a big success seeing as my remaining life-force was diminishing as each second passed.

"No one should die alone." He simply said and I stared at him, thinking how he used to speak curtly too before.

Finally, after what seemed hours, I snorted weakly, "Hn, do as you wish but don't expect a thank you from me, though." I said looking away from him but he didn't say anything, he just stayed there.

Minutes flew and at some point I started to cough lightly, spitting blood out of my mouth but it didn't surprise me. Finally, I couldn't resist more the silence.

"You must feel proud, knowing that you've defeated the powerful and evil Ultimecia, huh?" I sneered at him, trying to get a rise out of him but he just stared at me with those emotionless eyes and he simply shrugged.

"You were trying to compress all time in a single moment. Past, present and future fused together. We had to stop you."

I couldn't suppress the weak, bitter chuckle that escaped from my throat, blood spilling from my mouth. He made it sound so simple. A confrontation that spanned for decades and centuries, summarized in two meager lines. It was so like him. The pain seemed to be increasing without a clear stop. He just kept staring at me, like the silent guardian I remembered. He was like a guardian statue that only sprung into action when a threat appeared.

I gazed at the grey sky. There weren't stars above, only dull grey. "I tried so hard… I only wanted the fix things… Time Compression was the only way I could do it…" I murmured weakly but the words seemed to have caught his interest. Perhaps…?

"I'm so old… I lost the will to live so many years ago… I lost all my loved ones… time doesn't wait for anyone. I had to see as they all lived, loved, experienced… _aged_. I had to see how they all died. I buried them all, with my own hands. And yet… he had been with me all the time, protecting me, loving me… my Knight…" I smiled, remembering the good old times while my audience listened silently.

"But time is a cruel thing… I saw how his hair turned grayish white while I stayed young… I saw how his body started to betray the mind, growing weak every senseless year that passed…" It definitely felt odd opening up to him… the person he knew me most… that would me know me the most… I guessed he would leave that whore in blue before knowing me. I coughed and it reminded me of my growing weakness. My final moment was nearing closer and closer.

"But then it happened… we had been travelling around the world, visiting and exploring all kind of landscapes and ancient ruins… we didn't bother anyone… they didn't bother us… but they found us… they had decided I had become too powerful to be allowed to live. He tried to protect me... but they mocked him… calling him an old legend… whose time had long passed. Still, he did with experience what he couldn't do with strength… but they were too many… One got a lucky hit from behind… and my Knight fell… protecting me… Killed by the ones... he'd called comrades in arms long ago…" I said softly, feeling a few tears roll down my face, recalling the sensations from that day but I gritted my teeth, turning my hands into fists, consumed by the rage.

"I then realized… that if I couldn't bring him back from the death… I would become stronger… stronger than anyone... and so powerful that I'd be able to fuse all times in one and then… I'd be able to see him again… Just one more moment… consequences be damned… I had to see him again…"

I saw him furrow his eyebrows slightly in confusion, trying to figure out my words.

"And now I've seen him again… I felt… like I had accomplished my purpose… yet my own Knight had to fight me…" I muttered and soon I felt like falling into a frenzied state. "It shouldn't have been like this! It wasn't supposed to be like this! I only wanted to see him again! Why do you mock me so much, Hyne? Why? Damn you! Damn you to hell! IT'S NOT FAIR!"I roared to the heavens with a raspy voice.

I only saw from the corner of my eye Squall narrowing his eyes, trying to see something better but then they widened in realization. I didn't understand what he had seen until I moved and noticed that the gift he had given me was openly displayed resting on my bloodied chest.

"That's…! That's…! But then, you're…!" He tried to say but I didn't understand what he was trying to say.

"You were the only one who was there for me! You were the only one who protected me! I… only wanted to see you again… Squall… my Knight… my love…" I replied and stretched weakly a hand trying to reach him and he didn't move, paralyzed by the shock. I caressed his cheek and sighed longingly, but then I entered into a fit of furious coughs, splitting blood on the ground and I knew I only had mere seconds… at best.

"S-squall…" I called out weakly and I brought him out of his trance.

"W-what?"

"Please… I'm going to… die in minutes… Could you… for the me-memories… the mome-moments we shared… we'll share… c-could you kiss me… a final time…?" I asked with my last forces. I only wanted to feel him a last time… before everything ended. I could see him struggling with himself. The sight of Gryphus around my neck must have caught him off guard but his reaction… wasn't it a bit exaggerated?

"I-I-Alright… I-I'll do it." He murmured and I smiled at him, a warmth sensation spreading in my chest. Most of my body had already gone numb but this warmth filled me with a sensation of realization.

He approached cautiously, ever so cautiously, towards me, tensed, as if expecting me to attack him. Did he really think I would attack him?

After what seemed hours, he finally was at my side and he then lowered his head. This… this was the moment I had waited for so long… I felt a small giddiness in me… Finally, his lips pressed against my bloodied ones and he kissed me. In that moment… all felt right. It was short… but for me it felt like it was meant to be…

He stared at me with an unreadable expression and I opened my mouth to speak when a flow of memories entered my brain and I gagged slightly at the nausea. What was…? Looking at the memories, I tried to suppress a smirk… So, Time Compression still had given me the last word… At the end I had been victorious…

I looked at Squall and smiled weakly at him. There was no more time left. I had to say my goodbyes… "It's… time… Squall… I… I love you…. My Knight."

And then I knew no more.

* * *

They had done it. They had stopped the evil Ultimecia and her plan of Time Compression. They threw a party at Balamb Garden after reuniting with all the others, overjoyed with the end of the confrontation. Everywhere there were SeeDs and other people implicated in the stopping of Ultimecia: Laguna, Kiros, Ward, Edea, Ellone, Cid…

For his part, Squall and Rinoa were at the balcony, looking at the full moon. Rinoa approached him with lidded eyes and a faint smile.

"There's something that would be perfect to match this night, you know." Rinoa muttered.

"Hm?"

"Don't 'hm' me, Squall, just kiss me." said the brunette and wrapped her arms around his neck while locking her lips against his. The SeeD commander slowly lifted his arms and placed them on her hips, giving into the kiss but suddenly Squall tensed and he removed his arms from Rinoa's hips, going limb to his sides.

"Squall? What's wrong?" Rinoa asked worriedly but he refused to meet her gaze, looking away.

"I-I'm sorry, I need to talk with Nida for a moment about our course of navigation." Squall replied and left the balcony without looking at her and before she could manage to think properly.

"Squall…" She said dumbfounded, not knowing what just happened but then it hit her.

**Flashback**

Rinoa didn't know for how long she had been within Time Compression, walking without stopping in a seemingly endless whiteness.

"Squall! Squall! Where are you, Squall!"

"You won't find him… for now" answered a new voice from behind, a voice she recognized… Ultimecia.

"You! What did you do to him!" She yelled but the only response she got from her enemy was an arrogant smile.

"I? I did nothing. We're only talking. It's truly amazing Time Compression, who would have thought that there could be more than one of yourself in it… It's really an enlightening experience." The silver haired sorceress mused out loud.

"I don't care about that! Where's Squall? If you've done something to him…" she threatened in a surprisingly un-Rinoa-ish violence, glaring at Ultimecia.

The most powerful witch only growled at her and glared as well. "You're lucky that I don't have my powers anymore, _little_ _girl." _Ultimecia said, with a mocking tone at the end. _"_If not, I'd have reduced you to a mere spec of dust." She scoffed but the girl in blue only snorted.

"Yeah, and why don't you have any more powers? Because you lost against us!" She gloated with a smirk and Ultimecia looked at her with pure, unadulterated hatred in her eyes but it was soon replaced by a cocky smirk.

"I may have lost to you, whore… but who laughs last, laughs best. I'll take your most precious thing from you… After all he belongs to me!" She laughed and Rinoa, after seconds of confusion, connected the dots and gasped.

"What did you do to Squall, bitch? What did you do!"

"Nothing, _little girl_. I only reminded him of where his true love lays. Because why would I harm the man I love?" She explained with a cocky smirk.

"You lie! You don't know him!" Rinoa yelled.

"Oh, poor, poor child. He may love you… now, but time passes. Time changes everything, no matter what. He may love you now… but a part of him will always belong to me and only me… whenever you kiss him, he will always think about me, he'll think about what could have been. He'll think about everything I said to him in Time Compression… This is my last gift for you, _little girl. _Can you be with a man who won't be able to stop thinking about his real love? It's a shame that I won't be there to see it." Ultimecia said and cackled madly to the grayish sky.

Rinoa, in a fit of rage, raised Shooting Star and roaring, she struck her down, but even then, her cackle echoed in the air before fading away…

**End Flashback **

"It can't be that… Squall loves me! He wouldn't let himself be brainwashed by that bitch…" She muttered and lifted her gaze to stare at the moon, while inside the party was still going on.

"Right?"

* * *

And that's it, people! Wow, this took me almost two weeks due to laziness but I started writing and when I noticed I couldn't simply cut it off. So there you have it, a very nice one-shot of almost 5K words.

I guess at the end you can say this is a UltimeciaxSquall fic… bah, whatever! I like the pairing so no problem there.

Nothing else to say, but if you need to contact me for whatever you want, remember to PM me.

Anyway…

Peace out folks!


End file.
